ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 944
"Without the barrier of Agilion, and Proseus unable to take it back, the Sikelians faced the persecution of the Carthaginian army, and they did not know that reinforcements were coming. Moreover, the Carthaginians were very good at Fighting in the mountains... Faced with such a dilemma, it is difficult for us to guess what choice the Sikel people will make." Tormid said solemnly: "But if these Sikel people living on the western edge of the Sicilian territory The tribes have all surrendered to the Carthaginians, which will definitely cause a lot of trouble to our Sicilian territory!”

Davos knocked the wooden table heavily with his hand and said in a deep voice: "I decided to let the entire army land on Catanai and repel the Carthaginian army from the front!"

"Your Majesty, when we were discussing at the Satnicum camp, didn't you plan to land the army in western Sicily, where the defenses are empty, and cut off the return route of the Carthaginian army?" Matonis asked.

"Yes, I have proposed such a plan, but the premise for the implementation of this plan is that the Carthaginians have lost their sea power and cannot pose a threat to our landing fleet." Davers pointed to Sicily on the map on the wooden table Island, explained in a calm tone: "But now the situation has changed. The Carthaginians' new fleet has been put into use, and there are still an unknown number of warships being built in the shipyards of it and the Phoenician allies... I believe everyone is still familiar with it. The situation when we landed in Latium is still fresh in my memory. The number of ships carrying our legions was so huge that it was impossible to hide it from the eyes and ears of the Carthaginians, and it was impossible to achieve the purpose of a surprise attack. By then the Carthaginians would Make every effort to muster all sea power to prevent our landing.

Everything went smoothly when we landed in Latium before, and it took us nearly half a day. If we landed in western Sicily and were blocked by the Carthaginians, it would probably take a long time to complete the landing. After all, that area belongs to the Carthaginians. The range of control is more conducive to their combat.Even if we can bring together the Sicilian Fleet and the 3rd Fleet, we may not be able to take advantage of it... and even if the landing is finally completed, such a large army will require a huge amount of food consumption, and the next food supply may have to rely on Maritime transportation, this will be a big problem again! "

Davos looked around at the crowd and saw that they did not refute, but were lost in thought, so he said loudly: "Furthermore, the Sicilian territory is being destroyed and threatened by the Carthaginian army. The people are eager for us to come to rescue, and if we ignore them What would they think if they ignored their own safety and would rather take huge risks to land in western Sicily! Therefore, the top priority is to drive the Carthaginians out of the Sicilian territory so that the people can rebuild their homes quickly!"

When everyone heard this, they felt reasonable and nodded their heads in support.

At this time, Epithenes interjected: "Your Majesty, the plan to land the entire army in western Sicily has been cancelled, but one or two legions can be allowed to land."

Davos glanced at him and said: "This issue will not be discussed today. Three days ago, the Ministry of Military Affairs had notified reserve soldiers in various cities to gather at the military camp in Xiliting. Your task in the past two days is to replenish them as soon as possible. Your legions, replenish the army. In two days, we will set off for Katanai."

"What will happen to the Roman soldiers who surrendered?" Amyntas asked.

Davos had already considered it and said: "Still keep them in their respective teams, and each team will have one more Roman. With the addition of reserve soldiers, the number of Roman soldiers in the army will be diluted. I think This is more conducive to the stability of the team, and also more conducive to the accelerated integration of these Romans..."

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"Master Mago, look! Our soldiers have occupied the city!" The adjutant was dancing with excitement.

It’s no wonder he behaved like this. Tens of thousands of Carthaginian soldiers besieged this seemingly small city of Paragonia. In addition to killing and wounding many soldiers, the attack for more than half a month failed to make much progress. Now I finally got rid of this hard nut.

Mago, who has been gloomy these days, finally showed a smile. He said loudly: "Blow the attack bugle for me, let the soldiers seize the opportunity, continue to attack the city, and break the Dionian's second Build the city wall and wipe out all the Dionians in the city!"

"Yes!"

"Woo!..." Mago listened to the loud bugles and watched hundreds of soldiers swarming into the city of Paragonia, while the sound of fighting coming from the city became weaker and weaker...

Mago tightened his fists, eager to break through the inner city wall that had caused a lot of trouble for the siege soldiers this time.

The Carthaginian soldiers who occupied the city head quickly rushed down the city wall from all directions, roared and rushed into the city, chasing the fleeing enemies. In their extreme excitement, they rarely paid attention to the water flowing in the ditches beside the crisscrossing streets. It's not smelly sewage, but thick asphalt, and a large amount of freshly harvested wheat straw is piled in the empty houses...

Standing on the inner city wall, Captain Taiminides of the Seventh Legion of Dionysia looked at the enemies in the city approaching the city like a tide, and decisively issued an order: "Close the city gate!"

"Captain, there are many brothers who are retreating to the inner city. They will arrive soon! Wait a little longer! Wait a little longer!" The [-]th Army officer on the side asked anxiously.

Temenides gritted his teeth and said with a hard heart: "It's too late. Before they could reach the city, the Carthaginians rushed into the inner city! By then, everything we had worked hard to arrange would be in vain!"

At this point, he raised his voice and shouted loudly: "Close the city gate!"

After giving this order, he then raised his right arm and waved it down vigorously: "Fire rockets!"

More than a dozen rockets were fired into the ditch under the city, immediately creating a circle of flames and quickly spreading outward along the ditch connected to it...

"Captain, here it is!" the guard handed the wet linen to Teminides.

Temenides looked at the soldiers around him who were already covered with linen, reached out and took it, covering his mouth and nose with it.

Before long, the entire outer city had turned into a sea of ​​fire. The Carthaginian soldiers who had been advancing aggressively now wanted to retreat in panic. However, the narrow streets and crowded crowds made it impossible for them to do so, so Just as they were pushing each other crazily and even fighting, flames and thick smoke enveloped them...

In the sea of ​​​​fire in the outer city, there were screams everywhere, and among these screams there must be Dionysian soldiers who had not yet retreated into the inner city in time.

Taiminides closed his eyes in pain, held on to the battlements, slowly knelt down, and chanted silently in his heart: "Great Hades! You are the protector of the Kingdom of Dionia, you are just and strict Lord of Hades, I implore you to give these warriors who died fighting for the kingdom a fair trial, so that their souls can get the protection they deserve..."

Not only Taiminides was praying, but all the soldiers on the head of the inner city were doing the same thing. Although the solid city wall blocked the fire from spreading inward, the rolling heat wave hit his face and was suffocating, but every one The person was always kneeling motionless, facing the burning sea of ​​fire and repenting and praying devoutly...

The Carthaginians who were fighting outside the city were cheering because they were about to break the city. Suddenly they saw flames rising inside the city and soon covering the whole city. They were all shocked, and the shock soon turned into panic: "Oh my God! The Dionians are crazy, they set the whole town on fire!"

"Quick! Pull all the troops back!"

"Look at the fire! It's too late! The soldiers rushed in desperately for meritorious service, and blocked all the gates of the city. This cannot be withdrawn in a short time!"

……

Seeing that victory was coming, but in a blink of an eye, it turned into despair. Mago suddenly felt that he was feeling depressed and uncomfortable. He had nowhere to vent his resentment. He immediately grabbed the spear from the guard and threw it at a man who had just escaped from the burning city and was in a panic. Numibian soldiers fleeing in this direction pierced his chest with their spears.

Mago looked around at the soldiers around him with a ferocious expression, and roared angrily: "Shut the hell up!"

The followers suddenly fell silent.

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In the evening, Pomirka walked into the tent of the Carthaginian military camp.

Mago, who looked resentful and unapproachable during the day, was now devouring the cooked leg of lamb with a calm expression.

Seeing Pomilka come in, he picked up the half-eaten leg of lamb and said, "The lamb in Agrigento is really delicious. Would you like a piece?"

"Thank you, I've already had dinner." Bomir pulled up a wooden chair, sat across from him, and asked softly: "Next... what are your plans?"

"What do you mean?" Mago looked at him and asked.

"Lord Mago, the Dionians burned the entire outer city of Paragonia. We suffered heavy losses. According to the statistics just transmitted, nearly 2000 soldiers were burned to death and more than 2000 soldiers were burned. , from the time we besieged Paragonia to now, the number of dead and wounded soldiers has reached 7000!" As Bomirka continued to state the facts, his originally gentle tone became heavier: "A small Paragonia Let us have nothing to do with it, let alone the Dionysian military camp, Leotini, and Catanai, which are larger and have more soldiers. We can't continue to fight like this! Otherwise, wait for Dionysius When Asia’s reinforcements arrive, I’m afraid we won’t have enough strength to compete head-on with them!”

"What on earth do you want to say?" Mago asked impatiently, his face darkening.

"I believe you have received the news from Sardinia, 'The huge Dionian fleet carried soldiers from Latium south to Trina...' I'm afraid the Dionians have won The war with Rome, whose army is about to land in Sicily, should we temporarily stop the attack on Catanai to be fully prepared to fight the main force of Dionia? "

(End of this chapter)